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I rushed through the snow, desperately trying to get away from my pursuers. I accidentally ran into a group of treasure hoarders and they ended up chasing after me, probably wanting my money and anything else I had on me. I could only hope to god they didn't want me.
The cold was starting to get to me. I felt like I'd pass out any second, which was why I needed to get away. However, before I knew it, my legs already gave out. I gasped for air as I fell before passing out in the snow.
When I woke again, I kept my eyes closed in case one of the treasure hoarders was looking at me. I was sure I was at their camp or something, though the cold was gone. I heard the crackling of a fire beside me.
"Are you awake?"
I panicked for a moment, forcing myself not to flinch at the voice. It didn't sound like one of the treasure hoarders from before, but maybe it wasn't just them in the group. I couldn't take any risks.
"I'm not one of the treasure hoarders who were chasing you. They've been taken care of, don't worry."
I still refused to budge.
"Well, I suppose I'll introduce myself. My name is Albedo, Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius," the man said. "If it'll comfort you, my assistant, Sucrose, will be back soon with medicine for you."
The Knights of Favonius...? Maybe he's telling the truth then...
I slowly opened my eyes to see that he was working intently on some sort of experiment. He hadn't even been looking at me. I sat upright and felt a pain in my head, causing me to suck in a sharp breath. Albedo turned around and I got a good look at his face. He definitely was not a treasure hoarder. He observed me as I averted my gaze, feeling awkward in the situation.
"So... What happened, exactly...?" I questioned.
"I noticed you running from those treasure hoarders. Once you passed out, I took care of them. They won't be showing up anytime soon," he answered.
I feel like I should be concerned about that, but it doesn't matter now.
"Oh..." I exhaled, looking over to the entrance of the cave we were in. "So we're still in Dragonspine..."
"Yes. You won't be able to leave until you get better."
"I-I need to stay the night here?" I stammered.
"You're sick, and if you go out there, it'll get much worse. You don't seem to have a vision or a weapon, so you'd have nothing to defend yourself if you ran into more trouble on your way down the mountain," Albedo pointed out.
"Right..." I sighed.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
After that, I became good friends with Albedo. He didn't speak much, but I enjoyed his company either way. He was good at listening whenever I needed to rant, and I could tell he wasn't just spacing out because he'd make comments about what I was saying every now and then. It was nice to have a friend to talk to, but a part of me wished we were more than that.
"Albedo?" I called as I entered the cave I grew very familiar with.
"Oh, Y/n," he said, still working on an experiment he was perfecting for the past three days. "Can you hold this for me?"
He handed me one of his tools, which I held carefully as he worked. I glanced around the environment. The snow seemed to be coming down harder than the previous days, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. All of the equipment at his workstation had gotten a bit cluttered, so I decided I'd clean it up later.
"Are you alright?" Albedo asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine... Why?" I replied, snapping out of my daze.
"You seemed to be spacing out again," he commented.
"Sorry," I apologized.
"No need to be sorry," he responded, shaking his head gently.
It was silent for a bit after that, but it was nice. Silence was always something we both enjoyed, so we let it envelop us when we had nothing to say. There was no struggle trying to think of a conversation starter when I was with Albedo. We talked when we had something we wanted to say, that was all.
"Albedo?"
Hm?"
"Did I ever thank you when we met?"
"No."
"Well, thank you," I blessed.
"It was nothing."
I sent him a small smile, which he returned before getting back to work. Later on, I insisted he take a small nap before continuing, since he barely got any sleep the night before. While he was asleep, I was cleaning up his supplies and tidying his workstation as well as I could.
"Y/n...?" He mumbled.
"You're awake?" I asked.
"Come here please..."
I hesitantly walked over, kneeling down beside him, "What is it?"
